UK vegetable prices send WPI inflation to 6-month high

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation in the UK hit a 6-month high in October. The rise compares with a 3.01 per cent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

The main reason was vegetable prices, with inflation up from 3.92 per cent to 7.4 per cent.

Onions and tomatoes appear the main causes, though the government did not issue full details. Falls in fuel prices were offset by higher food costs, in particular those for potato crisps, the Office for National Statistics said.

Inflation's impact on the British economy is being exacerbated by the fact that real wages are actually growing more slowly than prices are rising, meaning that the average Brit is actually seeing the amount of money they have to spend decrease.